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Robber gets life in killing of Clinton Twp. store owner

Clinton Grayson, 25, leaves a Macomb County Circuit courtroom Friday, May 29, 2015 after being sentenced to life in prison in the 2014 murder of Clinton Township party store owner Basim (Basil) Sulaka.(Photo: Christina Hall/Detroit Free Press)

They never imagined he would beat the disease only to have his life taken by a bullet fired by robbers in the Clinton Township party store he had owned for 18 years.

That bullet ended their dreams of their beloved father, Basim (Basil) Sulaka, walking them down the aisle when they get married. It meant he would never spend another Saturday at the store with his younger brother, Larry, or see his wife and best friend, Linda, again.

Bianca Sulaka -- in a statement read during sentencing today for Clinton Grayson, the first of four men charged in her father's death -- said her father would have given the robbers "more of what you guys stole in a heartbeat."

Vivian Sulaka said her brother would have walked money to their car.

"Instead," Vivian Sulaka said, "they took a person's life."

Grayson, 25, told Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mary Chrzanowski that he was "sorry for their loss" but maintained his innocence.

Grayson was sentenced to life in prison without parole on first-degree felony murder and nearly 24 to 50 years on aggravated robbery and conspiracy charges. A jury found him guilty last month. A restitution hearing is set for July 13.

His attorney, Harry Boffman III, said "we'd like to extend a deep and heartfelt apology to everyone," especially Sulaka's family. "We are all sorry for their loss."

Grayson's sentencing comes four days before the other three men stand trial in the March 28, 2014 slaying of Basim Sulaka, 51, of Sterling Heights at the Moon Lite Party Store on Harper.

The other suspects -- Darius Diaz-Gaskin, Kenneth Hill and Jomar Robinson, all in their 20s and from metro Detroit – are to be tried together, with jury selection starting Tuesday. Two long folding tables are set up in Chrzanowski's courtroom in preparation to accommodate the defendants, their attorneys and the prosecution team.

Investigators said Diaz-Gaskin fired the fatal shot. They said Grayson was armed with a gun when he, Diaz-Gaskin and Robinson entered the store with the intent to rob it. Hill was in a getaway car on a side street, they said.

The crime was caught on store surveillance. The trio inside wore masks and gloves and emptied out cash registers, with the robbers later splitting the money. Grayson was accused of hitting Basim Sulaka after he had been shot.

Grayson's case was separated because Boffman had said he didn't want incriminating statements the other defendants made to affect his client. Grayson has another 2014 armed robbery case pending in the court and six prior armed robberies, according to statements made in court today.

Basim Sulaka's family told Chrzanowski that he was devoted to his store. His widow and family continue to operate it.

In her statement, Bianca Sulaka, 20, questioned how anyone could take another person's life and called her father's death senseless. She said the time Grayson will spend in jail will not compare to the time she will now never spend with her father.

Vivian Sulaka – wearing a button with her brother's picture and the words "Angel in Heaven -- said Grayson "will never understand the father figure (who) was taken from all of us. I hope he finds Jesus in the shadow of prison and repents to save his soul. God is the only one who can save him now."

Kayla Sulaka, who like her sister wore a black Justice for Basil shirt, started to address the court but began crying. Assistant Prosecutor Therese Tobin read what the 18-year-old wrote, saying that she didn't know "how evil people in this world can be."

Tobin said people would often approach her asking her about the case.

"They all knew him," Tobin said of Basim Sulaka. "The loss this family feels, the community is feeling."